The Legend of Zelda. The Witcher. Dragon’s Dogma. Monster Hunter. Street Fighter. And now, GTA 5? Every time South Korean studio Pearl Abyss shows off a new slice of its upcoming open-world, action-adventure Crimson Desert, I feel like I see a new line of influence. Over the six years since its reveal, we’ve seen a fantasy land akin to one Geralt would explore, puzzle shrines in the sky that could easily hover above Hyrule, and a complex combat system rooted in Capcom classics. But in the developer’s latest lengthy video detailing the world of Pywel, a new surprise awaited us: the addition of two new playable characters to join Scottish Jon Snow-alike main protagonist, Kliff Macduff. With whole skillsets of their own for us to now anticipate getting our heads around, I can’t help but be excited, but also cautiously wary. By trying to do so much, does Crimson Desert risk achieving nothing?
I say this as someone who has had the benefit of seeing and playing Crimson Desert more than pretty much anyone outside of Pearl Abyss’ walls, having visited the studio a few months back for our IGN First. Despite playing a good few hours of it, and having quite a lot of fun with its dynamic systems and satisfyingly flexible action, I still left feeling like I’d only scratched the surface of what Crimson Desert has in store. And I don’t mean that entirely positively – while it’s good to leave a preview knowing there’s plenty more to see, it’s not often you conclude a studio visit still unsure of a game’s big picture. If all those hours of hands-on haven’t successfully communicated what the game is, is something off?
We now know that Crimson Desert’s open world is twice the size of Skyrim’s and larger than Red Dead Redemption 2’s. I’ve put over 200 hours into Rockstar’s Western masterpiece and feel like I still haven’t seen everything, so it’s anyone’s guess how much awaits in this world. Crimson Desert’s Pywel is a gorgeous piece of geography, too, with streets filled with life and rivers running with glistening water. That water is also systemically linked to the gameplay options, conducting lightning magic to electrocute those who stand in it, and is transformed into blocks of ice when struck by freezing spells.
It’s all very impressive on a technical level, but leaves me wondering if this is all part of a “we can put it in the game, so why shouldn’t we?” mentality. From what I played, and from talking to the team, the ability to manipulate the elements won’t necessarily have puzzles or challenges built around them to make it a system you’d legitimately find worthwhile. In Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, for example, you know that if you’re taught how to make giant ice cubes, a puzzle shrine will likely follow asking you to put that lesson into action. Nintendo is a developer that has been making games like this for decades now, though, whereas Pearl Abyss is a studio in its relative infancy, having only released MMORPG Black Desert Online so far. By trying to fit everything it can think a player would like to do in a fantasy open world into Crimson Desert, I fear it may be shooting straight for the moon without learning how to get into orbit first.
It all loops back to this latest revelation that not only will we be playing through Kliff’s story, but stepping into the shoes of two new protagonists along the way. The as-yet-unnamed characters with their own (presumably) complex fighting systems look very fun to play as, don’t get me wrong — I’m particularly drawn to the quick dodging, magic-shifting, pistol-wielding woman who appears at first glance to better fit my more rogue-ish tendencies — but it’s yet another layer added on top of an already ambitious cake. I like cake, you can probably tell from a quick look at my face that that would be the case, but when it’s stacked so high that even Bruce Bogtrotter would take a pass on it, I worry it’s a sign that Crimson Desert should not be trying to have and eat it.
The other new playable hero is a hulking, giant axe-wielding brute with a machine gun attached to his wrist. If you’ve been keeping up with Crimson Desert, you’ll know that this isn’t your typical fantasy world, but one where dragons, steam trains, and mechs also roam around. It’s all very exciting in isolation, and genuinely fun to play as your giant metal monsters come face-to-face with helpless medieval soldiers holding only a shield. The power trip is there; I just worry about the rest of the journey.
Story and questing are incredibly important to me when it comes to open-world games. The Witcher’s twisting tales and many memorable side stories are what make The Wild Hunt an all-timer in my eyes. The cast of characters in Red Dead Redemption 2 and the way they weave seamlessly in and out of its world are what make it my favourite game ever. Crimson Desert has a lot going for it — the combat is exciting, the world is diverse and beautiful, and its systems are impressively reactive — but I can’t help but feel wary. Most of the missions I’ve played so far, at several different events, have been castle sieges, often ending in admittedly impressive boss battles. But, they’ve all been relatively thin narrative-wise, aside from an interesting detour to a mad inventor’s lair where he’d built a golden mechanical dragon, as you do. I’ve seen little of what’s going to be the thrust story-wise in Crimson Desert as a whole to get me hyped in that regard, nor met any characters that I feel will get close to my heart. And I can’t help but worry that there’s a reason we’ve seen so little of this world’s story.
Now, with the surprise addition of two extra playable protagonists to get to know on this adventure that is less than two months away, I worry that Kliff and his friends may well be fun to play as stylistically, but contain little substance within them. I’d be very happy to be wrong, though. I’ve been looking forward to Crimson Desert for a long time now, and have had a genuinely fun time whenever I’ve managed to get hands-on with it. I just wonder how all of these well-constructed building blocks will, in turn, create a greater whole. Will its gameplay systems overlap in interesting ways and be built into mission design? Will authorial intent come to the fore, or will I ultimately feel like a kid being dropped into a sandbox of possibilities with direction? I’m excited, just also a little afraid that by trying to be everything, it may end up achieving nothing.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
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